Before we begin

Observe the instructions below as you enter through the door

  • ·Laptop closed, every device off
  • ·Phones away, screens dark, headphones out
  • ·Let the room be quiet for the next few minutes

The work will still be here. Let us start somewhere else.

Who she was

Felicity

Carthage · died 203

Felicity
Contemporary icon. Perpetua in red, Felicity in white, holding on to each other — which is how the diary has them at the end.
  • An enslaved woman, arrested alongside Perpetua and their companions.
  • Eight months pregnant in prison. Roman law forbade executing a pregnant woman, and she was afraid of being left behind to die later, alone, among strangers.
  • She gave birth to a daughter two days before the games. One of the sisters raised the child as her own.
  • She died beside Perpetua in the arena.

Today she and Perpetua are the ones who got each other up off the ground.

The practice

Spiritual Friendship

hands on your lap · feet on the floor · a slow breath

In the arena Perpetua saw Felicity on the ground, and went and picked her up.

  • ·Open your eyes a moment and notice who is beside you
  • ·Close them again and hold that person before God
  • ·Pray for one thing you know they are carrying
  • ·If you know their name, use it

Spiritual Disciplines Handbook · Adele Ahlberg Calhoun · Part 4 · Share My Life with Others

breathe

“Seeing that Felicitas had been crushed to the ground,
she went over to her, gave her hand, and lifted her up.”

Passio Perpetuae 20

“Then the two stood side by side.”

Amen.

Open your laptops. Let’s begin.